Famous Last Words
by steepe
Summary: a love that will last all time, so they thought. What happens when one of them is gone, can the other survive and keep on living? BL
1. I Surrender

Ok, here is the first chapter of my new story. It's basically a brucas story, with some minor appearances by the other characters. After reading this, you'll probably think there is no where to go from here, but I have a few ideas. It's definitely not going to be a long story, but this idea came to me and I couldnt pass it up.

I strongly recommend listening to "I surrender" by Celine Dion to get the full effect.

**Chapter 1: "I Surrender"**

Lucas walked into the apartment to find a few candles still burning. He walked over to the kitchen counter and noticed a blue envelope sitting on it, with his name simply written on the front. He picked up the sheer paper and ripped the back open. He lifted out the folded paper inside and opened it up.

"_How many moments in life can you point to and say, that's when it all changed?" It's a really simple question, yet at the same time, is one of the hardest to answer. How can you point to a single moment and decide that's when my life changed? It's not possible. The truth of the matter is that there a number of moments that change our lives, but there's only one moment where we realize that our lives have finally changed. Depicting between the two, and knowing how to change them, that is the question we should be answering. If we know the moments that will change our lives in advance, will that change our lives for the better?_

_In 12th grade I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Yes, at the ripe old age of 18. When the news presented itself, I thought that my insides were being torn out of me, and in a sense, they were. How the hell does a 18 year old get diagnosed with ovarian cancer? Beats me. All I know is that it happened to me. _

_The doctors told me that I probably would never be able to conceive, which quite frankly at that age, wasn't the most depressing news. I look back at that moment and wonder, is that when my life changed? And I can simply answer yes, but if I were being honest with myself, that would be a lie. That's not when it all changed._

_When I entered high school, I was brought into the world of fitting it. You sincerely can not survive high school without fighting for your life. It seriously is like war. It was then that I was introduced to alcohol, at least the "cool" kind. For three years, I became someone who partied every night, got wasted every weekend, anything to stay in the circle of popularity. Was this when my life changed? As sad as it might be, no. This phase in my life taught me a lot, especially the fact that high school is way over-rated, and the fact that no alcohol is "cool". But, I cant say that that was when it all changed._

_One of the biggest moments in my life was in 11th grade, when my best friend and my boyfriend had an affair behind my back. I became angry and bitter toward everyone around me. I was hurt, and ashamed. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I hated them both, and at the same time, I just wanted them to comfort me. After all, he was the first guy I ever loved, and she was my best friend. Was this when it all changed? Again, I say no. _

_A year later, before I was diagnosed, I forgave both of them. I let them back into my life, and back into my heart. Shortly after, me and him began dating again. It was like a dream come true. Although this moment meant everything, the day that I stopped being angry, and started forgiving, it was not the moment that changed everything._

_So, looking back, I realize I cant recall the moment where everything changed? Each one of these minor moments brought together changed my life, whether for the good or for the bad. If I knew then, what I know now, would I change my life? Again, I must answer no. I wouldn't change a thing about my life, as screwed up as it was. Because in the end, it was my life._

_I am writing this to my husband, the first and last man I'll ever love, and to our wonderful daughter. Yes, after everything, the doctors were wrong. We were able to have one miracle baby. I thank God for her every day. But darling, this is not a happy letter. I'm dying, and you know as well as anyone, that my time here is very limited. If I were to answer the question honestly, this is the moment where everything changed, the day I realized I would have to write you this letter, this letter of goodbye. I'm lying here and I can feel it baby. But just know, I'm not as scared as I thought I would be. I'm actually quite peaceful, knowing you will take care of our beautiful baby girl, and continue to live on. Every moment from my past has brought me to this point, so how can I not say this is where it changed? _

_I love you with all my heart, and I wouldn't have changed a thing. You are my heart, soul, body, and spirit. You know me better than anyone else in the world, and I'm so thankful that I was given the grace to forgive you so long ago. Because if I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have lived this beautiful life with you, and that would have been the most tragic of things. _

_Please know that I will always be with you and Sophia. I will never leave your side. In everything you two do, I will be with you, watching as you continue to live on. And please, continue to live. I would hate more than anything for you two to shrivel up and die because I'm gone. Understand that I wont be upset for you two to keep on living, because that is what you are, alive, and I cant do that with you anymore. So please, move on, because I will still be there with you. _

_I love you, more than anything in the world. I hope someday you understand why I left so early, because I did what I had to in this world. I figured out the moment of my life where everything changed. How many people can actually say that? I'm grateful that I had the honor of figuring it out, even if it meant leaving you on your own. I'm not worried for you, because I know you'll be fine. You will continue to live on, and that's what I love most about you._

_With all of my heart, all of my breath, and every fiber of my being_

_Brooke_

Tears trickled down the sides of his face. How could she possibly be saying goodbye? It wasn't over yet, they could still fight.

He placed the envelope and letter down on the counter and hustled to the bedroom. He pushed open the old door to find his lovely wife and daughter a sleep on the bed. He smiled at the sight of beauty before him. He slowly walked over to them, sat down on the creaky mattress, and placed his hand on Brooke's side. He rubbed her gently, trying not to wake Sophia next to her.

When Brooke didn't budge, he bent down and kissed the side of her face as he whispered in her ear. "Baby, it's time to wake up" he smiled. She still didn't move. He nudged a little harder until her body turned over and lied limp next to him.

Tears flooded down his face.

"Brooke, please wake up." he cried as he continued to nudge her body "Brooke" he began to shout "It's not time yet Brooke. You still have so much life to live. Please baby, wake up" he cried and screamed at the same time.

By this time Sophia began to stir next to them, and she began to cry at the shouting of her father's voice. Lucas fell upon his wife's lifeless body and sobbed as hard as he could. The love of his life was no longer with him. How could she possibly think that he could go on living?

After what seemed like hours of just lying there, the only sound coming from both his and Sophia's crying, Lucas finally gathered the courage to pull himself off of Brooke, his Brooke. He kissed her cheek once more before he picked Sophia up in his arms and headed back out to the kitchen. He sat down on the couch, staring at the letter before him. He tried to calm Sophia down, and after a few minutes, he managed to do so. He laid her down next to him and he picked up the letter once more.

_I figured out the moment of my life where everything changed. How many people can actually say that?_

He read that line over and over. How many people were honored with the gift of figuring out the moment where everything changed? How could writing one last love letter saying goodbye be that moment for her? It hurt him to think about it. What defined a moment as being life-altering, and who decided it was life-altering? If he had to pick a moment out of her life, this definitely would not have been it. Saying goodbye is not life-altering, it's depressing, and hard, and tragic, but it was inevitable. Everyone had to say goodbye at some point. Is that what made it life-altering?

These questions would torture him the rest of his life. Would he ever be able to move on without the love of his life beside him.

Every morning, when he would wake up, he could almost feel her sleeping next to him. When the sun would shine through the blinds, he could swear that they outlined her beautiful frame. He would look over and see her smiling back at him, and he knew today would be a good day. She was with him, his Brooke, was with him every day. Although, it didn't bring her back, it was comforting to know she hadn't left him for good.

**A few years later**

"daddy, daddy, can we please go" Sophia whined as she came running into the bedroom. She plopped down on the bed next to him. "daddy wake up, it's time to go" she continued

Lucas looked over at the brunette little girl before him. She was a spitting image of her mother. He smiled as he pulled the little girl on top of him as she giggled.

"and where are we going today?" he asked her

"to the zoo. You promised" she smiled, and when she did, Lucas could see the same dimples that Brooke had. They use to melt his heart when she would smile at him.

"ok then. If I promised, let's go to the zoo" he smiled back at her

"yay" she cried in pure joy. She fell on top of him as he gave her the biggest hug in the world. He was never going to let her go as far as he was concerned.

"I love you baby girl" he whispered into her ear

"I love you too daddy"

"I love you too" he heard a faint whisper as the wind sailed through the window. He looked over to see Brooke's heavenly image lying next to him.

"I love you too, pretty girl" he whispered back as her image faded away.

Brooke was one of the lucky people that pin-pointed the moment where it all changed. Although hers was the fact that she had to say goodbye to the ones she loved, not all life-altering moments were sad. Lucas had realized he was also one of those lucky people. The day he realized he could go on living, that everything was not lost, that he still had Sophia, was the moment he realized everything would change. If that was what Brooke wanted him to figure out, then he had succeeded in making her dying wish come true, and that was more than he could ever ask for.

Lucas followed Sophia out of the bedroom and out into the living area. As he poured them some cereal, he looked upon the mantle of the fireplace. There, in a modern oak frame, was the last letter written by his love. There it would stay, to remind him that everyday is a gift, to continue to live, and never forget the moments of your life, whether they are life-altering, or just simple moments that help shape the person you are today. Everyday she would be with him, and that is what kept him going every morning, every afternoon, and every evening, day after day after day.


	2. This Is For Keeps

ok, I hope this isnt too confusing, but the story kind of jumps back a few years, and then forward again. Sort of like past and present. I hope you enjoy it and please R&R!

**Chapter 2: This is for keeps**

_-10 years earlier-_

"Lucas I got in. I got in" Brooke screamed as she ran across the hall and fell into his arms. She wrapped hers around the back of his neck as he held her there for a minute. She smiled as he continued to stare in her eyes. "now we can be together" she continued to smile, her big dimples showing as radiant as always.

"darn, I was planning on dumping you when we went to college" he smirked

She stuck her tongue out at him. "so not funny" she whined

"I'm so happy for you" he smiled again as he pulled her in close. He looked deep into her hazel eyes and smiled. She leaned up into him as he pressed his soft lips against hers. Just then she felt a searing pain at the temple of her head. She backed away as she pressed her finger against the pain.

"are you ok?" he asked concerned

"yeah. I just got a slight headache" she said softly, still rubbing her finger against the side of her head. "I'll see you third period" she smiled as she turned to go to the bathroom. Once inside, she quickly ran to the nearby stall and began puking. The pain in her head had caused the nausea. Once she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and flushed the toilet. She walked up the sink and began to splash some water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. This hadn't been the first time she felt like this. She had just hoped that it would eventually go away. Unlucky for her, it didn't.

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"hello again Ms. Davis." Dr. Klebold said as he entered the room.

She smiled at him, scared out of her mind. After the feeling didn't go away for 3 weeks, she decided it would be a wise idea to see the doctor. But now as she was sitting there, she was scared shitless. She fidgeted with her hands as he began to speak again.

"well, we have your test results" he faintly smiled at her, indicating some not so great news. "I'm sorry to have to give you this bad news at such a young age"

She knew it. Of course it would be bad. That was the story of her life. When things seemed to be going great, everything turned to shit. She had just gotten accepted to college, with her boyfriend none the less, and now she was sitting in the doctor's office, awaiting some news that would probably forever change her life. She knew something was wrong. By the way her body had been feeling lately, it just didn't seem normal. Now all she had to do was wait to hear the worst of it.

"it seems that there is a cancerous cell attached to your left ovary." the doctor replied. He just spit it out there like she was just another statistic. He didn't care how it was going to impact her life. He was just doing his job.

She breathed in heavily, hoping what she had just heard was not real. The look on his face told her otherwise. She, at the ripe old age of 18, had ovarian cancer. "what does this mean?" she asked, not really knowing what else to say.

"well, we can perform surgery to try to remove the cancer cells"

"try?" she questioned him

"well with every surgery there is a chance that we wont get every cell Ms. Davis. But, after the surgery is complete, we will have follow-up checks to see that they all have been removed and that the cancer hasn't spread to more parts of your body."

She looked at him, trying to hold back all the emotions she was feeling.

"now with every surgery there are complications. Since the cancer is located on your ovary, there is a chance of losing the ovary, depending on how big the cancer cell is. This may also leave you with some difficulties in conceiving." he replied again, so monotone. She swallowed hard as she looked back up at him. "would you like to schedule your surgery now or?"

"I guess" she smiled faintly

"how does next Monday sound?"

"fine" she said sadly

"alright then. I'll put you in the schedule" Put me in the schedule. I was just another sorry case for him to _try_ and help. "if you have any other questions or concerns you can always call" he replied

She hoisted herself up off the chair and made her way to exit. She smiled once again before thanking him and leaving. Once inside her car, she couldn't hold it back any longer. Tears began to fall freely from her eyes. The idea that everything was fine and normal an hour ago, and had somehow turned so ugly, she just couldn't comprehend. She wiped the escaped tears from her cheeks as they fell. It was no use, they just kept coming. She cried so hard, she didn't think she would ever stop.

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Lucas heard a faint knock at his door. He set down The Scarlet Letter and walked to the door.

"hey" he said softly, smiling wide upon seeing her face. She smiled faintly as she made her way into his room. She sat down on the bed and waited for him to join her. As soon as he sat down however, she immediately got up and began pacing. He watched her intently, knowing she would tell him whatever was on her mind when she was ready to do so. She paused, looked at him, opened her mouth to speak, but then began pacing again. How was she suppose to tell him the news? There was no easy way to do it. She couldn't say it. She couldn't face him when she told him the news. She walked over to him, kissed his cheek softly and then walked to his desk. She grabbed a piece of paper and pen and began scribbling on it. He continued to watch her intently.

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_-10 years later-_

Lucas opened the door to the apartment as Sophia bounded through it. She flew her stuff down on the floor as she ran to the couch and immediately turned on some cartoon. Lucas couldn't remember what shows she was still into. They were always the same.

It had been exactly 3 years since Brooke had passed away. He knew Sophia didn't remember the day, she was still too young. But today, Lucas found it very hard to keep going. At first, everyday was hard to keep living. He could close his eyes for a second, and he could see her. The outline of her beautiful figure, and those oh so sweet dimples of hers. He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume that she wore everyday. But as the days went on, he found it a little easier to keep going. Except for today. Today would always be hard, as far as he was concerned, no matter how many years went by.

He needed something to remember her, something to remind him of her. He smiled at Sophia as she continued to watch tv, and made his way to the bedroom. He opened the closet door and reached up to the top shelf. There he unveiled an old box. He brought it down and placed it next to him on the bed. He opened it and revealed a bunch of letters. He smiled at the abundance of them. He remembered the first time he knew about them. She had brought them to his house, crying because of what happened with Chris. A whole box full of love letters, just for him. He was the only guy that ever had her heart, and for that, he was indebted to her forever.

He fumbled through the letters until he came across 4/13/2007. It would have been in the middle of their senior year, after they had gotten back together of course. He picked it up and tried to remember what this letter would have been about. He opened the envelope and pulled out the yellow parchment.

_Lucas_

_You always told me I could come to you for anything. Well, I'm taking you up on that offer. I started these letters to express how I felt about you, but now they're an easy way to tell you things that I cant say to your face. I know you're sitting right across the room, but this is something that I need to write down. _

_These past few months have been amazing. And we were ready to move on and live our lives together. Bur today, I found out some news that broke my heart. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. But the truth is, I haven't been doing so well for a few weeks. So today I went to the doctor's. _

_The news is not good Lucas. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, and trust me, it hurts me a lot more than it hurts you. Ok, here goes nothing. I have cancer Lucas. Ovarian cancer to be exact. Next Monday I go for surgery, and I need you because I'm so scared. I cant do this alone. And the hard part is, as if the cancer wouldn't be hard enough, I might not be able to conceive since it is located on my ovary. I wanted to bring you the kids you talk about in your future. And it hurts me that I might not be able to do that. I know in my heart you will continue to love me, because you are such an amazing person, but I hope that you can forgive me for causing yet another problem in our lives. _

_Love you with all my heart_

_Brooke_

Lucas couldn't help but laugh as he reread this letter. She was asking him to forgive her for something she had no control over. But that was Brooke. She always wanted to please everyone around her, no matter how much she may have hurt herself in the process. Lucas could remember this day very well. She had given him the letter shortly after she had written it. She sat down on the bed and waited for him to read it, a few tears escaping her eyes as he did so.

After he had finished, he folded the letter back up and looked at her. He stared into her eyes and then wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and held her close, telling her it was all going to be okay. And it was, for a while. The greatest gift to have come from all of it, was Sophia. Brooke had been able to conceive, and they were given a beautiful baby girl. Although Sophia would never remember her wonderful mother, Lucas would make sure she would know her.

Lucas folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope and back into the box. Every year he would come to this box and read a letter, sometimes more, just to remind him of the love of his life. How she had poured out her heart and soul in letters for him. Sometimes he would read one when he was just having a bad day. Whatever the reason, the box provided him with that last remains of his wife. His pretty girl. The woman he loved, and always would.


End file.
